Bidding Goodnight
by Breeze of Summoners
Summary: Dragon Warrior Eroy Crescent knows his fate, but he will not allow the same to come to his wife Marie.


Bidding Goodnight  
  
He could sense something wrong.  
Eroy watched as his wife Marie walked quietly up the stairs, flashing a small smile at him before she disappeared behind the wall. Eroy smiled in return, of course, but it was a forced smile instead of the natural one that came. Something was wrong. There was nothing wrong with Marie, however. For a woman who was going to give birth in a month, she was doing pretty well. Eroy had heard that his mother had seemed to make it a goal to vomit at least once each morning.  
Something else was wrong. Eroy softly tapped his long nails against the wooden table. He ran his other hand through his silver hair. He had supposedly grayed by the time he was three. Actually, his hair was silver, and he had been born with it. Plenty of Burmecians hovered around him like he was a God, a sender from the Great Dragon.  
Like she would bother.  
Eroy could hear the soft footsteps of Marie as she walked across the hallway. She was taking her time. Soon he heard her stop. Ah yes, she was probably deep in thought with her religious insanity. Well, all right, it wasn't insanity. It was devotion, but Eroy wasn't a religious person. He was a Dragon Warrior, yes, but he didn't exactly feel that the Great Dragon had given him a privilege. After all, if he were the Great Dragon, he would've stayed as far away from himself as possible. There was nothing worthy about him. He had little devotion to anything at all.  
Except his wife. And that was why he was listening so closely.  
  
She had seen the strain in his smile when she passed up the stairs. And as she pondered this, Marie's pace became a slow crawl.  
Eroy was a curious one. He had little devotion to anything, except her, and he was a quick thinker. He thought before, quite frankly, every action he made. He was very calm and barely angered, but easily worried. And now he was worried.  
Maybe it's the pregnancy again, Marie thought.  
It seemed that Eroy thought that pregnancy equaled problems, and plenty of them. He was almost always worrying sick. Marie was the one who was supposed to be sick, not him. Actually, that was what he worried about most. Marie barely got morning sickness, yet whenever she did, Eroy seemed to have the idea that she needed to see a doctor. Marie knew she was fine. Now if she could convince Eroy of that maybe she'd have one less thing to have him worrying about.  
Now another thing had him worried. Marie came to a stop. Should she be cautious? Or should she just keep on walking, ready to pray?  
  
It took Eroy a few seconds to realize he had started to chew his nails. He sighed, lowering his hand back to the table. He was 23. He wasn't supposed to chew his nails. Why couldn't he break the habit?  
Eroy stared at the table, examining each little line, each little mark on the table. He then bolted upward suddenly. A sound! The soft tap of feet came to him. It came from a person wearing footwear. Burmecians didn't wear footwear. Who was in the house? Someone was in the house. Eroy looked around and soon located his Javelin. The thought that Eroy could be hearing things that weren't there came to him, but his worried mind discarded the thought immediately. Eroy began to pace, his claws tapping softly against the wood. He couldn't hear Marie's footsteps. What had happened to her? Was she hurt? Had she been attacked?  
  
She would've screamed, Eroy thought in an attempt to encourage himself.  
It did nothing to relieve Eroy of his worry. He continued to pace, listening for footsteps that didn't belong to him. He wanted to go upstairs. Find Marie. Warn her. But she would probably get annoyed. She was too sweet to say it outright, but Eroy knew he was annoying her and he didn't want to cause any more annoyance. She had a right to be away from his worry.  
Suddenly Eroy heard Marie start walking again. He would've relaxed, but he still hadn't forgotten the tap of feet that came from someone else.  
  
Well, standing in the hallway got Marie no where. She began to walk again. The house was nice and peaceful, though soon Marie heard Eroy begin to pace. She sighed. Why was he worried now? Now what was making him worry? Eroy was caring, but he worried too much, and it was beginning to bug Marie. But no matter how annoying it was, Marie didn't want to snap. Eroy wasn't only a worrywart, he was sensitive.  
Marie was approaching the bedroom. She could see something dark in front of the bed. She stopped moving, staring at it. She peered closer, and the gleam of metal caught her eyes. She gasped and her eyes widened.  
The black-eyed man had not expected to be seen so quickly. He fumbled with the crossbow, and Marie screamed.  
  
The minute Eroy heard Marie stopped walking, he stiffened. She had not reached the bedroom.  
The minute she screamed, his head jerked in the direction of the scream. He then bolted forward and grabbed his lance. He rushed to the stairs and leapt straight over them. He rushed down the hall to see Marie standing in a stunned, terrified state. The gleam of metal caught Eroy's eyes. He ran forward.  
Eroy then performed a stunt. He half-leapt, half-slid straight past Marie and in front of her. His arm automatically came up while he did, and he heard a snap. He felt a sharp pain in his arm seconds after he came to a stop. Eroy lowered his arm to take a look.  
A small arrow was lodged in his arm. A trickle of blood had managed to escape. Eroy stared at the wound, then up at the man who had launched the crossbow. He was dressed completely in black, keeping Eroy from identifying him.  
The man was also moving quickly. He was rising to his full height while putting away his crossbow and taking out a sword. Eroy also rose to full height. He looked behind himself and at Marie. She was looking at him with terror. Wordlessly Eroy motioned for Marie to back away. Marie backed a few feet away.  
Within seconds the man was on Eroy. Eroy blocked the sword attack, only to find that the man seemed to have the strength of the Great Dragon herself. Eroy managed to shove the man back, however, and tried to stab him. His javelin didn't break the skin, startling Eroy. He didn't allow his surprise to hinder him, however.  
"Power of the heavens, send the cherry blossoms of hope!" Eroy muttered.  
A dragon sprit plowed through the man, sending cherry blossoms in its wake. These blossoms exploded, burning the man. The man backed up, and Eroy pursued him. The man hit the bed lightly, spun his sword, and slashed Eroy in the knees. Eroy fell to his knees, but quickly rolled out of the way of the man's sword. He managed to rise to his feet while preparing a Lancer attack. The man rushed to attack, but the Lancer attack made him bounce back. Eroy rushed forward and slammed his spear into the man's chest. The man's reply was slashing Eroy across the shoulders. The two backed away from each other. The man suddenly took out a bottle and drank its contents before Eroy could stop him. The man's wounds sparkled, then disappeared or began mere cuts.  
The man had saved himself from death, and Eroy could barely stand. Eroy took a deep breath, one that could fill two men's lungs easily and nearly made his own burst. He then exhaled, lifted his spear, and allowed it to charge. The man raced for Eroy.  
"Power of the heavens, send the cherry blossoms of hope," Eroy muttered at the same time he slashed his spear across the man's thigh.  
The man could not get out of the way of the Cherry Blossom attack. He was nailed. The man backed away. Eroy watched his moves. He watched with slight surprise, as the man's skills suddenly became twice as good.  
It took Eroy a few seconds to realize that the man had been delaying. Whether to toy with Eroy or to warm himself up Eroy did not know, but now he slowly realized his own fate. He would not, however, allow Marie to have the same fate.  
Eroy began to charge his spear, taking a deep breath. The man shifted his sword. Eroy rushed forward and slashed the man in the shoulders. He then charged up a quick ball of energy and nailed the man in the stomach. The man back away. He then held out his hand, and a fire spell charged and slammed into Eroy. Eroy was knocked against the wall.  
Eroy rose to his feet, but the man was already moving. Before he could react, the man slashed Eroy's chest with his sword. It left a deep bloody wound. Eroy let out a startled gasp while the man turned towards Marie. Marie let out a soft whimper, eyes wide. The man charged toward her.  
Sparks flew when the metal tip of Eroy's Javelin met the man's sword. Eroy stood in front of Marie, half-stooping. He was gasping for breath, his chest bleeding severely. His spear was charged, and ready for one last attack.  
The man backed up. He then put his sword away and vanished into thin air. Ten seconds passed and he didn't return.  
Eroy's Javelin fell from his hand and hit the floor with a clang. Eroy staggered forward, letting out a startled gasp. Marie rushed over and caught him before he fell. She knelt down and held him in her arms, staring at him with teary green eyes.  
"Eroy," she choked out, and Eroy felt her muscles tensing as she prepared to rise.  
"Don't go anywhere," Eroy gasped softly. He fumbled for her hand, and soon found it. He held it tightly. "Stay here."  
"Eroy -" she began.  
"Marie, stay. It's too late," Eroy whispered.  
"Eroy," Marie choked. "It can't be. Not now. Eroy, not now!"  
  
"Marie, don't worry. You'll be fine. The children will be fine," Eroy muttered, his voice strained.  
"What about you? Eroy, what will I do without you?" Marie choked out. Tears slid down her cheeks. "Why won't you let me get help?"  
  
"Why should you strain yourself doing something that won't help?" Eroy asked. His voice was becoming softer. "Marie, when I'm gone, you'll become a mother, raise children. Continue life."  
Marie shook her head. "How can you say this? How can you?"  
"Marie -"  
Marie took a deep, ragged breath. "Fine. We were both supposed to name our children. So -"  
"I see," Eroy said. His breaths were becoming quicker as his body made a desperate attempt to keep him alive. "Well, for some reason, I've always been a sucker for the name Freya. Just something about the way it sounds. So, if there's a girl, could you -"  
"O-Of course," Marie choked out. "I'd do a-anything right now for you."  
"Just keep living," Eroy whispered. "Don't give up hope, Marie. Everything - will - be - fine."  
Eroy's breathing was beginning to slow as his body began to give up. He just managed to lift his head up so he could kiss Marie on the cheek. His head then fell against Marie's arm, and he stared at the ceiling, panting.  
"Eroy," Marie choked out. "Eroy!"  
  
Eroy didn't answer. He took soft breaths. He took one deep breath.  
"Love," Eroy said softly. It was all he could manage.  
Eroy's eyes were no longer focusing. His eyelids slowly flickered shut. If he had spent less time talking, he may have survived longer. Now, life slowly left him. Marie bowed her head, sobbing. She wanted to get help, but Eroy had told her not to. She opened her eyes once again, and got a good look at the wound on his chest. It was a deep bloody slash.  
No wonder Eroy refused to let her get help. No one could help with such a wound. Marie began to sob harder.  
Please not now. Not now. Don't take him now, don't take him now, Marie thought frantically, half-praying, half-thinking. Please, Great Dragon, let him live. Don't take him now. I need him now. Don't take him.  
Eroy's breathing was slowly coming to a stop, as if his body refused to accept its fate.  
Please not now. Not now, don't take him now, don't take him now. Marie thought.  
Marie opened her eyes. Due to the tears that blurred her eyes, she couldn't see well. She took a deep breath.  
"Eroy?" she whispered.  
There was no answer. It took Marie five seconds to realize Eroy wasn't breathing.  
  
The next day Marie shuffled silently to the castle. She looked at no one, and spoke to no one. Many asked what was wrong, but she would only shake her head. If she dared speak, she would bring herself to tears.  
She was let into the castle with no problems, and she stared at the king. He noticed her eyes that were red from crying.  
"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.  
Marie took a deep breath. Tears came in her eyes again the minute she thought about it.  
"M'lord," Marie managed to choke out. "My husband has been murdered."  
  
------------ Man, I can write sad stories when I want to. Anyway, I do like Burmecians, believe it or not. I believe this to be one of my better short stories. Please tell me what you think! (Note: This story does tie in with Let Fear Propel You Forward and Saving Freya) Thanks for reading!  
  
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix. 


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